On the Soul - Nafs 2

النفس

Not Equal

{ قلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ }

{Say, "Are equal those who know and those who do not know?" Only those of understanding will take heed.} 39-9

The superstition of equality, which is a modern idol, is not merely the result but also partly the cause of the general disorder, for it is in its own way a revolt against hierarchy; and it is all the more pernicious for being a perversion and the corruption of the best, and this is corruption at its worst, suppressing legitimate aspirations for freedom and equality.
IQ: Ancient Beliefs and Modern Superstitions, M Lings; p.45

The role of reason and intellect in Islam

No Soul Knows

Allah says:

{ فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَّا أُخْفِيَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُون }

{ No soul knows what is kept hid for them of joy, as a reward for what they used to do. } Quran 32-17

What they used to do: It is said 'what they used to do were their prayers by night,' it is also said: 'it was their fasting.'
'Awaarif al-ma'aarif; As-Suhrawardi

When people are captivated by the life of this world and absorbed in it, they forget about God and the Life to come until sadness and despair will strike them.

This heavenly joy is kept for the faithful. Its indications are already seen in this life. The faithful are the people of serenity and spiritual tranquility (sakīna ), they are those who remember Allah constantly (may His Majesty be exalted) and are generous (wāsi'-l fikr ) towards their fellow human beings.

Be a Man: Will Power and Resolution

Dear friend: try to be a man of strong will power and resolution, so that you may not go from this world as a person without resolution, and hence rise on the day of resurrection as a brainless-being, not in the form of human being.

For the otherworld is the place where what is hidden is unveiled and secrets are exposed.

One’s audacity to commit sin, converts him little by little into a man devoid of will power, and takes away the noble essence of humanity from him.

More than anything else, giving the ears to the sounds of music and songs, steal from men their will power and the power of resolution.

… be a man: with will power and resolution = equally be a woman with will power and resolution!

Willpower (over the nafs, which is commanding evil) is achieved by following the laws of Islam and the example of the Prophet, ﷺ (sallAllahu `aleihi wa sallam- the blessings and peace of Allah upon him), the best of humankind ever to walk the earth!

Refrain!

{Refrain from following your own desire, so that you don't deviate (from justice) - if you distort or neglect justice (if you turn away from truth), Allah is fully aware of what you do.}
4-135

Sufism ( tasawwuf ) is a knowledge through which one knows the states of the human soul, praiseworthy or blameworthy, how to purify it.
Sufism - tasawwuf → 011